Holiday bubbly

Thought I'd pass along a few comments about champagne (technically, sparkling wine) for this time of year.

The ultimate bubbly to me is not a cheap one. Oh, but it's so worth it: Veuve Clicquot. If you shop around, you may be able to find it on sale for $35/bottle (if your state allows discounts on alcohol, that is).

Otherwise, if you don't want to spring for the VERY good stuff, here are some decently good ones that are also economical:
Freixenet ($11/bottle) -- dry, basic flavor and of course good bubbles
Segura Viudas ($13/bottle) -- semi-dry and a good mouth feel. May be a stronger flavor than you're accustomed to, which can be a plus or minus.
Korbel Brut Rose red sparkling wine ($ ) -- for something really different. This would be lovely served with food at dinner or with appetizers.

If you have a favorite or discover a new one, let me know. Cheers!

Another one bites the dust

I spoke too soon about our collective improving health. L and I were up in the night with both kids at different times. In a cruel twist of fate, Peanut appears to be teething -- and right when all her crud is clearing up.

Jellybean, on the other hand, apparently has some new crud of her own with a fever and cough. Because we're leaving this Sunday to fly to the grandparents, I squeezed her in to see the doctor today. She saw a different doctor than Peanut, but same result: some sort of bacterial infection so antibiotics are in order.

So now, in addition to the 95 million things we're carrying on the plane, we must somehow incorporate a cooler to keep our liquid antibiotics chilled the whole time (and get them through security, God willing).

L and I were already scrambling around like mad people this week: he, trying to get exams graded, and I, trying to handle Christmas and travel chores so he could grade said exams. We should be enjoying the snowfall and a lovely bottle of red wine in the evenings. Instead, our interactions this week have consisted of conversations about coughing and snot at 4 a.m. Isn't marriage romantic?

Loud entertainment

If you don't like someone, you should make sure and buy their kids obnoxiously loud toys, right? At least that's what I used to think was the message with those gifts. But this year, I'm changing my tune (so to speak). The Christmas items I thought would be the most irritating because they play music have actually proven quite the opposite. I am no longer cursing those well-intentioned relatives from previous Christmases.

The musical spinning snowman, dancing mouse and blaring musical cards actually enthrall my children so much that I can get things done around the house. By myself. Without anyone tugging on my pant leg. Or even being in the same room. And the best part is that the noise is the equivalent of GPS: I know exactly where they are in the house.

So, hit those Christmas decoration sales and stock up on a couple noisy decorations for next year. You'll thank yourself come December 2009.

What will I do when we have to put away our Christmas decorations? Back to never getting anything done...

On the up and up

I'm happy to report that Peanut is feeling much better. After looking and acting much worse than she had even when I posted previously, I called the doctor's office and took her in. She was diagnosed with a sinus infection and prescribed (gasp!) antibiotics. The medicine must have been exactly what she needed, because after a couple doses, she was back to being herself again, and she continues to improve.

And in case you're wondering how we're doing without Kleenexes, the answer is: surprisingly well. I have been diligent with the handkerchief for the kids, even through this pretty heavy-duty cold. Their noses haven't gotten sore, and they are still more than willing to have me wipe their noses. L and I haven't had a full-blown (pun intended) cold yet, so the jury is still out on our conversion to the hanky cloth.

We finally had Jellybean's much-anticipated preschool Christmas concert. It was fabulous! Despite the fact that it took place close to and overlapping her bedtime, she sang her little heart out for every single song. They were all so cute. The first line of each song was SO LOUD and then it gradually tapered off the further into the song they got. I loved it.

Hopefully we will all stay reasonably healthy and not contract Peanut's ailment, as we are going to fly the friendly skies this weekend to visit our families for almost three weeks. I even found an airport transportation service that has car seats and will take us door to door. It should be lots of fun. Already, L and I are grumbling to each other than next year will be the year we make everyone come to us. You heard it here first.

Holding onto the baby

Peanut is getting to that stage where she's starting to shed some of her baby-ness in favor of little girl-ness. Not completely, mind you, but there are definitely shades of a more mature girl coming through all the baby sweetness these days. We won't be having any more kids, so I am feeling a bit wistful about nearing the end of my baby parenting days. There are definitely things I won't miss, but there are things I will.

So now that Peanut has come down with a pretty major cold this week, she's much more a baby than a little girl. Poor thing, she's a thumb sucker, and her little nose is so stuffy that she can't even get herself to sleep with her thumb because she can't breathe through her nose. So, L and I have spent a lot of time in her rocking chair soothing her and calming her down before bedtime and naptimes the past couple days. I hate that she's feeling crummy, but a small part of me has savored that quiet cuddle time. I know it won't be long before she'll be too old to be held at all, and she'll be back to her regular bedtime routine (which involves her declaring, "I want bed!" before any lengthy snuggling can occur) very soon once she's over this cold.

Because of Peanut's cold, she had to miss out on my playgroup's holiday party last night. L stayed home and cared for her. Although this is the giving season, we decided it would be best not to share her cold virus with all her friends. Jellybean and I went and had a really fun time, including the chance to make reindeer food, which was very cute. She and I came home at 6:45 to a quiet house and L relaxing on the couch. He had taken such perfect care of sick Peanut -- he gave her an early bath, knowing she was probably extra tired, and he put her down easily at 6:30. It's no wonder I love him so!

We are leaving this weekend for the holidays -- flying this year instead of our forever long energy-sapping drive. Hopefully this cold will have finished its inevitable rounds by then.

For holiday baking

I mentioned this pie crust a while back, so I thought I'd share the recipe. I have baked quite a few pies in my time, and never have I had such an easy time with the crust as I did with this recipe.

We're talking no desire to throw it against the wall and not a single cuss word. The vodka (in the pie crust, ahem) makes it much easier to work with.

Foolproof Pie Dough

- makes one 9-inch double-crust pie -

The trick to this pie crust is the inclusion of vodka. Eighty-proof vodka, which is 60 percent water and 40 percent alcohol, adds moistness to the dough without aiding in gluten formation since gluten doesn't form in ethanol. Although the recipe includes 8 tablespoons of liquid, the alcohol vaporizes during baking, resulting in a tender crust that only contains 6 1/2 tablespoons of water. Because of the extra liquid, the dough will be moister than most standard pie doughs and will require up to 1/4 cup more flour.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water

Procedure

1. Process 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined, about 2 one-second pulses. Add butter and shortening and process until homogeneous dough just starts to collect in uneven clumps, about 15 seconds (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and redistribute dough evenly around processor blade. Add remaining cup flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around bowl and mass of dough has been broken up, 4 to 6 quick pulses. Empty mixture into medium bowl.

2. Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

This is from Cook's Illustrated magazine. Enjoy!

A different kind of holiday season

We have been as busy as ever since Thanksgiving. This Christmas season is different than previous years for several reasons, and I feel like sharing them.

First of all, the kids are getting old enough to really understand all the Christmas stuff. Peanut is still a bit young, but she knows who Santa is, loves to "sing" Jingle Bells and has had fun looking at Christmas lights. Jellybean is completely into it this year; in fact, L and I really have to mind our p's and q's about Santa -- we have to keep our story completely straight. That will present some challenges when we're out of town for Christmas, but we'll cross that bridge.

Also this year, now that Jellybean is in preschool, we are being engulfed in all the holiday goings-on, which is fun. In a couple weeks, she will participate in the Christmas program, in which the preschoolers perform songs for all of us. She has been singing and singing around the house -- "Away in a Manger" is her favorite -- and has loved singing Christmas carols every day she's at preschool. I'm interested to see how her penchant for performing at home might transform once she's in front of a crowd. She is much less shy and reserved than she used to be, but as we all know, stage fright is a different animal entirely.

The other thing that is different for this year is the Christmas between L and me. We have seen too many people beset by difficult circumstances in this economy, Michigan being one of the biggest stages, unfortunately. There is nothing much I really need -- and L neither -- so we have decided to allocate our Christmas budget to sponsor some kids. The shopping and wrapping efforts have been intense (I'm not as efficient shopping for boys!), but those are nothing compared to the struggles these kids and their parents are facing. The idea that a child doesn't have warm enough clothes for the Michigan winter breaks my heart and my spirit more than I can express.

I was thoroughly touched today when Jellybean was in her own little world pretending and I realized she was pretending to be helping people. She has more comprehension of the Christmas spirit than she knows.

Festive fun

I was ready to kick the holiday stuff into gear for the kids, and then we got snow, and I'm feeling even more that way.

I thought I'd share a couple fun holiday things we've discovered this year with hopes that maybe you'll share some of yours (I show you mine, you show me yours).

Books:
Brave Santa, by Nancy Poydar. A fun twist on kids being afraid to sit on Santa's lap (potentially an issue for Jellybean this year, hopefully eclipsed with this book).

A Christmas Party, poem by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey with Cyndy Szekeres. This is an oldie I found at the library. A really cute story about forest animals celebrating Christmas.

Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris. NOT a children's book, definitely not. A grown-up book that will have you laughing like a kid, though.

Music:
Brian Setzer Boogie Woogie Christmas. This is the "Stray Cat Strut" guy and his big band sound. The songs are energetic takes on some of the carols -- replete with a decent Elvis imitation on "Blue Christmas." It has kept our toes tapping.